Initial State shape

In a statechart or activity diagram, an initial state
represents the state of an object before any events included in the diagram have acted on it.

A transition from the initial state is usually unlabeled and represents any transition to the enclosing state. The exception is the case of a top level state machine when the transition is labeled with the event that creates the object.

There can only be one initial state in a statechart diagram but an activity diagram can have multiple initial states.

Name an Initial State shape and add other property values

Open the element's UML Properties dialog box by double-clicking the icon that represents the element in the tree view or the shape that represents the element in a diagram.

Tip

Control which property values display on a shape in a diagram by right-clicking the shape, and then clicking Shape Display Options. In the UML Shape Display Options dialog box, select and clear options to display or hide property values.